be free. The Ideal is in thyself, the impediment, too, is in thyself; thy condition is but the stuff thou art to shape that same Ideal out of. What matters whether such stuff be of this sort or that, so the form thou give it be heroic, be poetic? Oh, thou that pinest in the imprisonment of the Actual, and criest bitterly to the gods for a kingdom wherein to rule and create, know this of a truth: The thing thou seekest is already within thee, here and now, couldst thou only see!”
All that is beautiful and blessed is in thyself, not in thy neighbor’s wealth. Thou art poor? Thou art poor indeed if thou art not stronger than thy poverty! Thou hast suffered calamities? Well, shalt thou cure calamity by adding anxiety to it? Canst thou mend a broken vase by weeping over it, or restore a lost delight by thy lamentations? There is no evil but will vanish if thou wilt wisely meet it. The God-like soul grieveth not over what has been, is, or will be, but perpetually findeth the Divine Good, and gaineth wisdom by every occurrence.
